


Sunrise (Solangelo)

by reclinedazure



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: It's okay to be gay, M/M, but he a sweetheart u feel, lowkey fuccboi will
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-31
Updated: 2016-08-31
Packaged: 2018-07-11 08:47:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7041358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reclinedazure/pseuds/reclinedazure
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico tried to hide his blush, hiding his face behind his arm. “D-don’t get ahead of yourself, Solace. I don’t get up this early in the morning to gawk at you.”</p><p>Will laughed. “Never said you did.”</p><p>“Whatever” Nico muttered, hoping that Will couldn’t hear how he was saying it with a grin.<br/>//<br/>In which Will is trying to win Nico over after the war.<br/>Nico is still having nightmares.<br/>They are both assigned to a quest with Jason, where their relationship develops.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So I'm planning to make this a full blown fanfiction but I decided to post this as a bit of a preview. It's mostly fluff but I plan to add more quest-y things later on.

Prologue.

 

_ Thump. Thump. Thump. _

_ I’m drowning. _

_ Thump. Thump. Thump. _

_ “No way out” a voice says _

_ Thump. Thump. Thump. _

_ “You will die here” he hears as he is pushed by a wave, as if the voice had slapped him aside. _

_ Thump. Thump. Thump. _

“This is where you belong”.

 

_ Before he can say anything else, he is pulled under the surface of the water and everything goes dark. _

 

Nico woke up with a sharp gasp, drenched in sweat as if he had really been swimming in the waves of the River Cocytus.

That made it worse. 

 

Nico puts his head between his hands, trying to remove the memory of his dream, breathing deeply to steady his heartbeat. Nico had hoped that his nightmares would stop after defeating Gaea, but they had only gotten worse. 

He looked outside. The sun was rising. He decided it was better to not go back to sleep.

He does this nearly everyday. He always seems to wake up at the crack of dawn due to the nightmares, he takes a shower, then he sits on the roof of his cabin to feel the cool morning breeze and try to think about nothing.

 

Of course, that’s hardly ever the case. 

 

Nico didn’t know what was worse, his thoughts eating him alive while he was awake, or the nightmares that seemed all too real. He only sighed at the thought, and stepped outside.

As per usual, he sat, perched on his rooftop, staring into the distance. The sun was slowly creeping itself above the horizon, Nico just watched and breathed in the clean air. 

 

Will Solace, on the other hand, woke up at dawn everyday for as long as he can remember. He always supposed it was an Apollo thing. However, it didn’t seem to affect his siblings. He woke up the moment the sun showed itself in the sky, and felt like passing out the moment it disappeared. And unlike Nico Di Angelo, he wasn’t one to sit around and  _ think.  _ He was a busybody, he always made his way to the infirmary and take inventory, right after he would get out of bed. 

 

Afterwards, he would cut bandages, at least 70 of them a day.

Next, he would refill the water bowls of the pegasi.

Then, he would go to the Arena to make sure the sparring dummies were ready for the day’s lesson. 

Lastly, he would make his way back to the Apollo cabin to shine the chariot, then it would be time to wake up his brothers and sisters. 

 

This had become routine for him, unspoken rules, a way to keep his body active without having to disturb anyone else. So today, just like everyday, he went on his merry way and did the things that nobody ever told him to do, but did anyway.

Nico saw Will do this while he would be sitting on his rooftop, and he always thought that it was so typical of Will to do. Will was always helping others even if nobody asked for help, of course he would wake up early in the morning and contribute to the camp.

 

_ Like the sunshine boy he is,  _ Nico thought. 

 

Nico always assumed that Will never saw him, his cabin was blocked by a few trees and was never touched by the sun. So, as much as he would hate to admit it, he would watch Will Solace every morning as far as he could see. He didn’t want to, but it would keep his mind off of things. 

But today, whilst he watched him walking back towards the Apollo cabin, Will had suddenly stopped. Nico raised his head in curiosity, that was previously resting upon his bended knee. Will turns around cautiously, like he knew he was being watched. 

 

Nico didn’t worry, it was too dark for Will to see him.

 

_ Plus, he’ll probably just think I’m one of the gargoyles of the Hades cabin.  _

 

But, curiously, Will faced the Hades cabin, somehow made eye contact with Nico and flashed him a smile. 

 

Nico nearly stumbled off the roof.

 

“Didn’t know you were an early bird!” Will shouted as he made his way closer to the Hades cabin.

 

Nico didn’t know how to respond. He felt a bit embarrassed. How did Will see him? Can Nico actually be seen as clear as day? Has Will seen Nico sitting here before? 

As Will came to a stop in front of the cabin, he smirked “But it seems like you’ve known that I’m one for a while"

 

_ Shit. _

 

Nico tried to hide his blush, hiding his face behind his arm. “D-don’t get ahead of yourself, Solace. I don’t get up this early in the morning to gawk at you.”

Will laughed. “Never said you did.”

“Whatever” Nico muttered, hoping that Will couldn’t hear how he was saying it with a grin.

 

Will put his hand in his pockets, turns around, and begins his return to the Apollo cabin to wake his siblings up.

“Get down, Nico. Breakfast should be starting soon.”

Nico checked his watch. Breakfast was going to start in 15 minutes. He looked back up at the Apollo head counselor, to make sure that he wouldn’t know that he had just gave in to his orders, again. He was still walking towards his cabin, so Nico made his way down.

 

Nico had been taking more orders from Will than he would like.

 

“Oh, and Nico-” Will turned around and gave Nico another smirk as he said “You have a check-up today. Don’t be late, okay?”

He didn’t give any time for Nico to respond. He just started walking back to the Apollo cabin as if he didn’t know how much his words affected Nico. But he did, and he liked to tease the son of Hades.

 

What even Nico hadn’t realized,

Is that, at least for now, he had forgotten about his dream.

 


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will removes the stethoscope and then places it on Nico’s chest. Nico doesn’t know what to do.
> 
> The stethoscope is cold, and Will’s face was only inches apart from his. Nico was close enough to find that Will smelled like iodine, hydrogen peroxide and boy sweat. 
> 
> “Breathe in” Will repeats
> 
> Nico inhales.
> 
> “Breathe out”
> 
> Nico exhales.

Chapter 1 - Nico di Angelo 

 

Nico looked at his assigned schedule for the day.

 

_Strawberry Picking_

_Stable Cleaning_

_Kitchen Duty_

_Lunch_

_Strawberry Picking_

_Strawberry Picking_

_̶S̶t̶r̶a̶w̶b̶e̶r̶r̶y̶ ̶P̶i̶c̶k̶i̶n̶g̶  Weekly Check-up_

_Dinner_

 

He gave out an exasperated sigh. The week following the war, Will had put Nico under strict observation and forced him to spend numerous nights in the infirmary. Now, a _month_ after the whole Gaea fiasco, Will _still_ wouldn’t allow Nico to do labor-extensive activities at camp. He even had Nico monitored by Chiron and other campers during the day to make sure he didn’t try anything stupid with his powers.

 

 _And now,_ Nico thought. _I have weekly check-ups?_

 

Nico was itching to try his hand again at some shadow traveling.

He would even settle for sparring with Jason.

Or even goddamn archery!

He just needed something other than picking strawberries and washing dishes.

 

He looked up from his schedule.

He was sitting at the Hades table in the mess hall, surrounded by the rest of the other campers. Most were still groggy from having to wake up so early, others were still in their pajamas.

Jason and Percy were also sitting alone at their respective tables, but both were still in the process of waking up fully. Percy looked as if his face would fall into his oatmeal any second. And Jason…

 

Well, Jason was just asleep.

 

Jason and Percy would always sit at the Poseidon table together, because they were both tired of sitting alone in their designated tables.

They had invited Nico to sit with them before, but Nico didn’t feel the need to talk to anyone during meal times. Instead, he would eat and observe.

Out of habit, Nico would always lock his eyes on Percy.

 

He didn’t like Percy in that way anymore, or at least that’s what he would tell himself. But Percy was just genuinely interesting to look at, to observe, there was always something new with him.

A tiny new scar, the occasional freckle, and his eyes.

 

_His eyes._

 

His eyes always seemed to be a different color every time you looked at him.

 

When he was mad, they were a dark, stormy ocean.

When he was laughing, they were the summer sea.

When he was looking at Annabeth, they were the Camp-Half Blood pond, glistening against the sunlight.

 

Nico smiled.

Ever since the war, he had come to peace with his, now former, crush on Percy. The more he thought about it, the less he could feel sorry for himself.

He found it ridiculous now.

 

 _I mean,_ he would think to himself, _who hasn’t had a crush on Percy?_

 

Right now, Nico saw that Percy’s eyes were red, probably from rubbing them too much. His hair was pointing in all different directions, indicating he had just woken up.

 

Nico realized he was staring too much when Will decided to wave his hand in front of Nico’s face.

Nico, taken aback, blinked a few times before looking up at Will, who was holding his bowl of oatmeal in one hand.

“Something curious over there, Nico?” Will asked.

 

For the second time that day, Nico had had an embarrassing interaction with Will Solace

 

“Nothing” He replied, looking back down at his plate.

 

Will looked at him for a moment, his face containing both curiosity and intensity, before walking away and returning to the Apollo table.

 

Nico looked up again, everyone else just beginning to eat their meals, or just beginning to wake up. He, on the other hand, was one bite away from finishing his meal (which only had around 4 bites to begin with) and heading off to the strawberry fields.

Nico had been praying for a moment alone, outside his cabin, so that he could finally try out his powers again. Will’s watchful eye never seems to escape him.

Nico sees Will laughing with his siblings, the only morning people in the bunch of demigods and decides that this is his opportunity to slip away.

He put his fork down, silently scooted to the end of the Hades table, then unnoticeably started walking to the strawberry fields.

 

\----

 

Nico liked the strawberry fields, he honestly did.

He found the smell of moist soil familiar and endearing, and when mixed with the scent of fresh strawberries ready for picking, it made Nico actually really like the fields.

 

What he hated about it is that it was nearly impossible to be alone. There were at least 4 campers for every row of strawberries, and there were about a dozen of those per field.

Right now, however, it was just Nico, the moist soil, the raindrop-kissed strawberries and the morning breeze. He did a double take, ensuring that he was alone.

He gave out a sigh of relief when he realized he wasn’t being watched. He finally had an open space to do something, well, Hades-y.

 

He thought about what he should do, and he had to think fast.

 

 _Shadow traveling?_ he thought. _No, too risky._

_Summoning a few zombies?_

_No, too flashy._

_A pile of bones?_

_...Yeah, a pile of bones._

 

He figured that this was a safe bet. Summoning a pile of bones was something he would accidentally do unknowingly, but it hasn’t been happening lately. It was perfect, it didn’t require too much power, it’s not very noticeable and it was something small.

 

Nico took a deep breath.

 

If he screwed up now, Will would find out and demand that he stay in the infirmary for a week.

He stretched his hand outwards, above a clear piece of ground, closed his eyes and concentrated.

 

He envisioned tiny animal bones that have been buried into the ground, slowly making their way to the surface and seeing the light of day. As he did this, Nico could feel energy being drained from him. Granted, not a lot, but he could feel every bit of energy he used slipping past his fingertips.

 

He opened his eyes.

 

A pile of animal bones lay on the ground in front of him.

 

He hadn’t realized until he saw the pile, but his heart was pounding a bit faster and his breaths were quicker. It felt like he had went up a couple flights of stairs.

He stared at the pile and let out a small grunt. He was frustrated that something as small as this made him lose his breath. His hand felt cold but his face was warm with blood.

Nico began kneeling towards the pile to start scattering the tiny bones, in the hopes that nobody would notice he did anything underworld related. But before his knee reaches the ground, someone nearby shouts for him.

 

“Nico!” Lou Ellen shouts from behind him.

 

Nico panicks. The bones were still there, and she’ll quickly catch on that Nico attempted to use his powers.

Before he can think too much, he places his hand above the pile and quickly does a pushing gesture. He doesn’t check if the bones had really sunk back into the ground before he stands up to face Lou Ellen.

 

“Lou!” He exclaims, hesitantly. “Good morning!”

She smiles at him, but then her eyebrows furrow. “You okay? You look tired”

 

It was then he noticed that the extra effort of pushing the bones back into the ground had made him even more tired, like he had just gone sprinting. But this time, he had no time to feel sorry for himself.

 

“Do I?” His breathing is heavy. “I was uh… Having a lot of fun picking strawberries”

Lou Ellen’s eyes brighten. “You did? Where are they?”

“Where are what?”

She chuckles. “Seriously? The strawberries you picked! Where are they?”

 

_Shit._

 

“I uh… Ate them all”

 

Silence.

 

“You ate them?” Lou Ellen asks

Nico felt himself cringing as he replied. “Yes”

Lou Ellen looked at him with curiosity, then she grinned and laughed. “That’s okay, I do that too sometimes! I saw what you had for breakfast and it definitely looks like you needed those strawberries. Just don’t make too much of a habit of it, okay?”

Nico gave a sigh of relief. “Yeah, of course”.

“Good” she grinned “Now help me get the baskets”

 

\------------

 

Nico stood outside the infirmary with a note, written on which, in bold, messy handwriting:

 

**DOCTOR’S NOTE:**

My patient, Nico di Angelo, is to be excused from strawberry picking from 5:30-6:30 PM.

Approved and signed,

William Solace :)

 

Nico was incredibly offended by Will’s signature, in particular.

 

 _A smiley face._ He thought.

_A fucking smiley face in a signature._

 

He sighed and looked up once more at the door of the infirmary. Every opening of the infirmary was curtained with canvas, and the light inside burned a bright, fluorescent yellow. He saw no shadows, unlike how he normally did.

 

He checked his watch.

 

_5:15_

 

He wondered if he should wait outside for his designated time, 5:30.

 

_I mean, that's what you do if you have a doctor’s appointment, right? It’s more polite that way?_

He immediately shook his head at the thought.

_Will is not a real doctor, and it shouldn’t matter to me if I’m being polite to him or not._

 

But it did.

 

He simply let out a big breath and pushed the door open.

 

Spending all those days in the infirmary made the sight oddly comforting. All the beds were made, all the pillows fluffed, and at the end of the ward was a large window that showed a view of the cabins, with a small pot of flowers growing on the window sill.

He then realized that nobody was in there. He looked around, in the hopes of finding Will. However, Will would always sit on the window sill when he wasn’t doing anything. He’d be cutting bandages, reading or gazing outside with the window open.

 

Nico didn’t want to know why he knew that.

 

He peered into the office and storage cabinet, but no luck. Will was not in the infirmary.

After what felt like a good half hour, Nico checks his watch again.

 

_5:35_

 

It hadn’t occurred to Nico that maybe Will had a life outside the infirmary up until then. Whenever Nico had an appointment, Will would be basically waiting at the door for him. He figured that Will spent his whole camp life in there.

Nico decided that it would be better to come back later than have Will come thinking that Nico was so desperate for company that he waited in there. He started his making his way to the door, when it suddenly swings open.

 

Will comes rushing in, sweaty and breathing heavily, swiftly putting on his Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. It takes him a moment to realize Nico was there.

 

“I see you’re on time for once”. Will smirks. “Sorry I’m late”

 

Nico tried not to comment or pry as to why Will did not have a shirt on when he entered, or why he was breathing so heavily, but he couldn’t.

 

“Where’d you come from?” Nico asked with a little too much curiosity.

Will just shrugs. “Volleyball game”.

 

Nico does not respond afterwards.

 

“Sit down” Will says “Your usual spot will do”

 

Nico makes his way to his designated bed, the one to the right of the window, where Will would be able to keep a close eye on him. He sits down at the edge of the bed, awaiting further instruction.

Will takes his sphygmomanometer out and wraps the cuff around Nico’s bicep. He places the stethoscope on Nico’s arm and begins pumping air into the device.

The stethoscope was cold and Will remained completely silent, concentrating on his work.

 

Nico didn’t know what was worse, Will constantly teasing him or Will when he goes all ‘doctor mode’ and made everything incredibly awkward.

 

Will wrote something down on his clipboard and took the cuff off.

 

“110/65” he says. “Pretty normal”

 

Will then stood up, and placed the stethoscope under Nico’s shirt, on his back, in the portion right behind his heart.

 

“Breathe in”

Nico inhales.

 

“Breathe out”

Nico exhales

 

“One more time”

Will removes the stethoscope and then places it on Nico’s chest. Nico doesn’t know what to do.

 

The stethoscope is cold, and Will’s face was only inches apart from his. Nico was close enough to find that Will smelled like iodine, hydrogen peroxide and boy sweat.

 

“Breathe in” Will repeats  
  
Nico inhales.

  
  
“Breathe out”  
  
Nico exhales.

 

Will writes something else on his clipboard. “Your breathing seems normal, but your heart is beating faster than average”. He looked at Nico with genuine concern. “This doesn’t seem to be going away. It’s around the same as your first check-up”

 

“Maybe because I’m stressed”. Nico states.  
  
Will laughs. “From what? Strawberry picking?”  
  
“Well then maybe it’s because my schedule is so sedentary that my resting heart rate has increased and the littlest effort overworks my heart”  
  
Will stares at Nico, with the tip of his pen in his mouth, like he always does. “Well, I gotta admit, you know your shit”  
  
“Anything to prove you wrong”  
  
“Well than maybe you’re right”. Will grins “I’ll make sure your schedule tomorrow has some archery or something, not anything too labor-intensive”.

 

 _Gods, finally!_ Nico thought.

 

“After all, I heard about what happened in the strawberry fields today”

 

Nico freezes, and his previous smile disappeared.

 

“What-what happened in the strawberry fields today?”  
  
“Lou Ellen told me you brought in almost a third more of the strawberries that you usually do”  
  
Nico feels a weight get lifted from his shoulders.  
  
“Seems like you’re ready for more tiring things” Will continues.

Nico cannot help but smile again “I knew that my strawberry picking would pay off”

  
  
“Good for you”. Will gave a chuckle “It’s getting late, and I know you eat dinner in your cabin alone for some reason, so you should get going”.  
  
Nico nodded, stood up and started walking back to the door, with Will trailing behind him. Will opens the door for Nico to show him out.

 

“Thank you for being my cooperative patient” Will says sarcastically  
  
“You aren’t my doctor”  
  
“Yes I am. Have a good night, Nico”.

 

Nico turned around and he heard the infirmary door close behind him.  
  
In the cool evening breeze, Nico realized how warm his face was. He didn’t think much of it, and started walking back to his cabin as he heard the numerous other campers making noise in the mess hall.

 

The Hades Cabin was lit with torches of Greek fire, and before he went inside, he watched the infirmary lights turn off.

 

____________

 

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

_I’m burning._

_Thump. Thump. Thump._  
  
_“We’re waiting for you” an eerie group of voices say_

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

_“All of you will come here again”._

 

Nico’s body shoots up from his bed. His breathing is heavy, his heart is pounding, his hair is drenched in sweat.

 

He looks out the window, expecting to see the warm light of dawn, but it is only the faint glow of the moon.

Confused, he checks his digital clock.

 

_2:36 AM_

 

This confuses him, but quickly accepts it. He decides that it’s better to continue with his usual routine. He throws on a hoodie and makes his way to the door, ready to sit on the rooftop until the morning comes.

 

Determined, he opens the door with confidence, only to find a figure standing in front of his door, ready to knock.

 

“Percy?” Nico asks. “What are you doing here?”

 

Percy rushes inside, and shuts the door behind him.

 

“Do you have nightmares?” Percy questions.

“A-about what? Percy, what are you doing in my cabin?”  
  
“Tartarus”

 

They both fell silent, before Nico replies.

 

“Yes”

 

Percy gives a sigh of relief “Thank the gods, I’ve been going crazy in my cabin thinking nobody would understand. You know, with Annabeth away and all”

 

“Right” Nico says. “So, uh… what can I do for you? You want um… some tea? I have a kettle right here, and I’ve got green tea and earl gre-”

“Is it okay if I spend the night here?” Percy asks

Nico is befuddled “Here? In my cabin? Right now?”  
  
“Yeah. I just figured it would be like… more comforting to know that someone who’s gone through the same thing is there to like uh… support you or something”

  
He blinks at Percy. “I-I guess that makes sense…. I suppose you can stay, I don’t really see why not”.  
  
Percy pulls Nico into a hug “Thanks, dude. I don’t think you know how much I appreciate this”.

“Yeah don’t go mushy on me, Percy”. Nico blushes, but pushes Percy away from him slightly “You can take one of the bunks. I’ll grab you a pillow and a blanket”.

Percy laughs a little “Thanks, Nico”.

 

As Percy climbs up on the bunk on top of Nico’s, and as Nico gets Percy what he needs. He starts to observe Percy again.

 

Percy’s eyes are bloodshot like this morning, but less sheepish and filled with more sadness and anger, probably because of the nightmare he has just had. He was shaking his leg as he sat and constantly running his hands through his hair in distress.

 

“Hey” Nico says as he hands Percy the pillow and blanket. “You wanna talk about it or something?”

Percy gives out a deep breath “Yeah, I guess that’s healthy, right? You wanna go first?”  
  
“I would but all my nightmares are such a blur. Just sounds and images that flash for about a second each. Can’t really say much about them. You go.”

“Okay, uh…” Percy runs his hand through his hair again. “I’m not sure if you encountered this, but my dream was basically reliving the time when Annabeth and I had all the ‘curses’ brought upon us to reality…”.

 

Nico could hear Percy choke up a bit.

 

“You don’t have to share it if you’re not comfortable, Percy”  
  
Percy sighs “... Yeah… yeah, maybe some other time. Let’s just go to sleep”  
  
“Alright.” Nico replies. He turns the lights off and then tucks himself into bed, a bunk right below Percy.

 

“Percy?”

“Yeah?”

“I just need to clarify with you that I don’t uh… like you that way anymore”

Percy laughs “Why’d you bring that up?”

Nico hesitates “You know, it’s just that you’re like… in my cabin. I don’t want you to think that I’ll be um.... Pursuing you or anything”

Percy laughs even harder “Don’t worry about it, dude. I get it, and I’m sure you’re already ‘pursuing’ someone else”

“What?”

“Nothing” Percy says with a grin. “Goodnight, Nico”

“Screw you, Percy” Nico replies. “Goodnight. Sweet dreams, I guess”.

 

Nobody spoke after that. It seems as if the short conversation tired Nico out, maybe even drained him of all his emotional capacity to connect with people. So much so, that he fell asleep minutes after he closed his eyes.

  
Neither Nico nor Percy had any more nightmares that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update will be August 31, Wednesday (UTC + 8:00) so it might be Tuesday for you, depending on where you live. I'll try to keep updates as regular as possible but we all know the struggle of school :(


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico waved at him “Hi”.  
> Will’s eyes widened but he gave a small smile “Hey”.  
> He noticed that the boy was a bit shorter him, although he looked about his age, had olive skin and had dark hair.  
> Nico gave Will a wide smile “I’m new here”. He reached his hand out “I’m Nico”.  
> Will shook his hand “I’m Will”  
> //  
> Will recounts the day he meets Nico and how Nico disappears one day.

Chapter 2 - Will Solace 

 

_5:45 AM_

That is when Will Solace’s eyes shoot open, in response to the beginning of the sunrise.

This is earlier than usual. The sunrise in New York City is typically around 6:30, but he supposes it had something to do with daylight savings.

He stretches his back as he sits upright and gives out a big yawn. He looks around his cabin to see his siblings sound asleep, lightly snoring and lost in their dreams. Will smiles at the sight.

With barely any light peaking through the window, the visual of sleeping teenagers in their bunks in some rundown cabin seemed so picturesque. Sadly, it was too dark to take any decent picture, which he didn’t need to do anyway. He saw this every morning when he woke up.

 

Will took his time in getting washed up and dressed, since he had woken up earlier than normal. He brushed his teeth, ran his hands through his hair a few times, opened the door and left for the camp infirmary.

Everyday, he would pass by the Hades Cabin to get a glimpse at the very distraught Nico di Angelo.

 

However, this time, he wasn’t there.

 

Will stopped in his tracks when he passed by the cabin and found no Nico on the roof. He tilted his head in curiosity and confusion before remembering it was much earlier than usual. He figured Nico was still asleep.

He continues his journey to the infirmary and on the way enjoys the smell of morning dew and flowers that they themselves, were only beginning to wake up hoping to be kissed by the sun.

He, the only other possessor of the infirmary door key (other than Chiron), unlocks the door and slowly closes it behind him. As per usual, he first waters the forget-me-not’s that sat in a pot on the window sill. He notices that he forgot to fix up the bed that he used for Nico’s check-up yesterday, so he tidied up before taking inventory.

 

He did this, like he did every day.

 

Inventory.

_Check._

Bandages.

_Check._

Sparring dummies in the arena.

_Check._

Pegasi Stables.

_Check._

Walk back to the cabin and clean the chariot.

_Check._

 

On his way back, he stops once more in front of the Hades Cabin, wondering why Nico was not on the rooftop like he normally was.

Will smiled a tiny bit.

 

_Maybe he’s embarrassed that I finally called him out yesterday._

 

He found the thought quite cute, endearing even. So much so, that he blushed at the very idea. Will checked his watch and realized it would be a good 30 minutes before having to wake his siblings. That’s when he started fidgeting slightly.

Will felt the need to keep busy, but right now, he didn’t know what else to do.

He glanced once more to the Hades Cabin’s roof, blinked a few times and decided that maybe now was a good time to take a page out of Nico’s book. Maybe now, he would use this time to sit down-

 

And think.

 

Without even hesitating, he started walking towards the camp pond, and hoisting a canoe out of the shed, along with an oar and a picnic blanket that he found. He was not a very strong person, and he struggled quite a bit, dragging the heavy wooden canoe by himself to the edge of the lake.

Will couldn’t swim very well either, so he knew what he was risking if the canoe were to capsize.

He stepped inside the canoe and only barely succeeded in keeping his balance. He grabbed the oar and started rowing to the center of the lake.

 

See, Will knew that this was the best place to witness a sunrise. Not because it had the best view of the sun, but because when the sun came into vision, the brilliant colors dawn had would be reflected on the glittery waters and create something beautiful.

He found the sunrise incredibly intriguing, how it takes only minutes to fill the dark blue sky with vibrant color. How the sunrise allowed the sky to be divided into two, night on one side, and day in the other- both equally beautiful in their own right. In the past, Will hated that he would always be the first one to wake up, but now he found it a blessing that he could savor this sight every single day.

When he got to the middle, he found the sky was still quite dark, and he had a lot of time before the sun could be seen from the lake.

He lay down in the canoe, folding up the picnic blanket to be used as a pillow and laid down, only praying that he wouldn’t capsize while he couldn’t see anything.

Will looked up at the still fairly dark sky and tried to think.

 

_Tried._

 

Will didn’t realize how hard it was to consciously think of something. For a good amount of time, he was simply questioning what was a good subject to be thinking about.

 

_The lake?_

_Tomorrow’s capture the flag?_

_The Presidential Election in which Donald Trump might actually win?_

 

He thought about those things individually, but it felt so forced that he would only hold onto it for about 2 minutes each. He looked up at the sky again, which was starting gain more color from the sunrise. And without thinking, his mind set itself of one thing.

One person, more of.

 

Nico di Angelo.

 

Will distinctly remembers the first day Nico came to camp. He was a small, innocent kid that was obsessed with two things - Mythomagic cards and Percy Jackson. Will, on the other hand, had been in camp two years prior and thought Nico was a bit strange, he received a very weird vibe from him.

They had met during a campfire, when the Hermes cabin was taking way too much space in the amphitheater and Nico was seated next to the Apollo Cabin, where Will happen to be.

Nico waved at him “Hi”.

Will’s eyes widened but he gave a small smile “Hey”.

He noticed that the boy was a bit shorter him, although he looked about his age, had olive skin and had dark hair.

Nico gave Will a wide smile “I’m new here”. He reached his hand out “I’m Nico”.

Will shook his hand “I’m Will”.

Nico went back to his business, fuddling with a deck of cards that he would be grinning at. Will, wanting to be nice, asked about them.

“These?” Nico says excitedly. “These are Mythomagic cards! They’re based off Greek Gods. It’s really fun”.  
  
Nico had a moment of silence, admiring the cards then he snapped his head towards Will.

 

“Do you wanna play?” he asks. “Nobody else here knows how, and they don’t really wanna learn either” he says sadly.

It is important to note that Will is what the other campers call ‘an actual saint’. Thus, Nico’s sad expression, and the very thought of this clueless guy playing cards by himself made Will very, very upset.

Will smiled ear to ear “Sure! Teach me how!”.

Nico nodded enthusiastically then quickly handed Will a few cards. Will truly tried to understand the game, but memorizing how each card worked and how they reacted to different cards made Will’s head hurt. Despite that, he really tried to reciprocate Nico’s excitement.

 

The days after, Nico would basically shadow Will due to his cluelessness of the camp. Will was too nice to tell Nico that they had different schedules but even then, he didn’t want Nico to go away. Will had developed a liking in him and genuinely liked hanging out with him.

“Hey Will, how long do quests normally last?” Nico asks one day while Will was strumming away on a lyre in their free time.

Will cocked his head to the side in some confusion “It depends”.

Nico, equally as confused asks “What do you mean it depends?”.

“Quests don’t have a deadline, Nico. They can last from 3 days to a few months. Sometimes… sometimes people don’t come back”. Will replies.

Nico looks horrified at the news.

 

Will immediately regrets what he said “I mean, that rarely ever happens! They almost always come back! Why are you asking?”

“Oh”. Nico says “My sister went on a quest a few days ago to look for that girl Annabeth, she went along with this guy named Percy! Do you know Percy?”

“I know of him. He’s a pretty popular guy” Will replies.

“He’s really cool. When we got attacked by that monster, he used this really awesome sword and the monster ran away. It was really awesome”

 

Will found Nico’s little obsession with Percy weird, and it made him feel a tiny bit angry when he talked about Percy too much. Regardless, he let it slide. He found Nico to be pretty good company, and he eventually got the hang of Mythomagic and had gotten pretty good at it.

 

One day, while they were playing cards, Nico was called to the Big House.

“They’re back from the quest, Will!” Nico stands up immediately after he hears the news. “I’ll be right back! Don’t look at my cards, okay?”

Nico runs off immediately, in the Big House’s direction.

 

Will waited.

 

And waited.

And waited.

 

Will never saw Nico after that.

He cleaned up the cards that Nico had left and he kept them with his other things in the Apollo cabin. Will would every so often think about what happened to Nico, and his name would come up every now and then at camp, mostly by Percy or Annabeth when they talked about their quests.

 

Will did miss him, he was a pretty great guy to hang around with but when Nico finally resurfaced, he had become so different.

Will saw him again at the Battle of Manhattan, slashing away with a black sword at monsters, sucking up their life force. Will was not at the front lines, he was a medic and could only observe Nico from a far.

Nico was so much paler, his olive skin had become translucent. The area around his eyes had greyed and became sunken. He was at least a foot taller, but so much thinner than how Will remembered him. Will didn’t even know that Nico was a child of Hades until then, when he emerged fighting alongside his father, when he showed the world his ruthlessness and true power.

 

And just as quick as he appeared, he left again.

Will found it upsetting that Nico never bothered to look for him, the kid that he shadowed when he was 11 and essentially forced to play Mythomagic.

 

Will’s curiosity of Nico grew then, Nico was an enigma that couldn’t be solved, a shadow that faded so quickly that Will could never capture an image.

 

Seeing Nico again during the Greek-Roman war shocked him. When he saw him, he could tell right away that Nico was not doing well. He felt the darkness within Nico and he knew that it would soon consume him. That’s why Will was especially happy that the war ended so quickly, people who were suffering, people like Nico could finally take a rest.

 

Will, laying in his canoe, suddenly realized that he finally started thinking about something, and that something was Nico.

Will felt a bit embarrassed when he found that his cheeks were warm at the thought of the son of Hades, but then he shook his head to hopefully get his mind back on track.

 

Will was brought back to reality by the light of the sunrise that was being reflected on the camp lake. Orange, yellow, pink and purple all being blended together by the constantly moving waters. He never got tired of seeing the sunrise, because each day brought its own unique blend of hues, and against the water, they illuminated. He wished he had brought his camera, because today’s mix was particularly beautiful. After marveling after the sight and looking at the time, he rowed back to shore and made his way back to his cabin.

 

For good measure, he made sure to pass by the Hades Cabin again. On his route there, he notices a figure walk out of the door.

 _He’s out a bit late._ Will thinks to himself.

Will is about to quicken his pace, to maybe catch up with Nico but then he sees another figure at the door of the cabin, greeting the first person goodbye.

 

Will panics and tries to get closer without being noticed.

 

_Who was that leaving Nico’s cabin?_

 

He hides behind a few plants, where he was able to get a closer look. He sees that the first figure is taller than Nico, and was wearing an orange Camp-Half Blood t-shirt, which Nico had always refused to wear.

After concentrating and a lot of squinting, Will realizes who it was.

 

Percy.

 

The second figure was Nico, bidding Percy goodbye at the door. He was wearing a black hoodie and had a small, sleepy smile on his face. He says something, but Will can’t catch it.

Percy, without warning, embraces Nico and pats him on the back before he leaves, walking in the direction of the Poseidon Cabin.

Will didn’t know what he felt. He felt confused, sad, angry, curious and betrayed all at once. He wanted to know what Percy was doing, leaving Nico’s cabin at 6:30 in the morning. And to Will, whatever it was, he knew he wasn’t going to like it.

 

He waits for Nico to return inside his cabin before he starts walking again.

 

He wants to trail behind Percy and maybe interrogate him about what happened, but he realized that he had the responsibility to wake his siblings up in time for breakfast.

He grunts in frustration then walks to the Apollo Cabin. He slams the door open and is impatient in waking up his brothers and sisters, unlike his usual calming demeanor that wakes them up with soothing words.

All of them are at shock with their Head Counselor’s behavior and Will notices this.

 

“I’m sorry, guys” he says. “Let’s all get to breakfast quick, okay? There’s something I need to do”

 

__________  
  
What pissed Will off the most was that Nico looked more enthusiastic than usual.

 

Granted, Nico was never enthusiastic but Will could easily tell by the way he was carrying himself. Even the fact that Nico wasn’t on the roof today already indicated that he had been in bed all night. He got to breakfast early, was first in line for food and his plate carried more than his standard 2 pieces of toast.

Will looked at him with his head resting on the palm of his hand. Will could always tell if someone was hurt or suffering, it was one of the qualities that made him a good medic. It was another gift that he got from being a child of Apollo. A look or a touch could tell Will how much and where someone was hurting. He knew where the site of a patient’s internal bleeding was just by holding their hand, he could diagnose asthma with a slight touch from the back of his hand. He was really good at detecting physical pain, psychological was much more difficult.

Emotional, psychological pain felt like gas. It was everywhere and spread throughout the entire body. The worst part of it all was that it was much, much harder to fix. As much as Will wanted to, he couldn’t give a pill or use a band-aid to cure that kind of hurting.

 

Nico’s hurting never seemed to go away but today it was a tiny bit less.

 

Scratch that, what pissed Will of the most was that he was getting angry over the fact that Nico was even just a tiny bit happier, and he was not aware of how.

 

Percy, at the Poseidon table with Jason, was more awake than ever. His eyes were not red and he looked pretty alive, talking a very sleepy Jason’s ear off.

 

Yup, Will was definitely, _definitely_ pissed off.

 

He carefully timed eating his oatmeal with Nico. He waited for Nico to finish his meal and leave the mess hall, and once he did he followed Nico right after. He knew exactly what he was going to impose on him and Percy if what he was suspecting was true.

He was going to tell Annabeth.

 

_The worst kind of suffering._

 

“Nico!” He shouts after he knows that the mess hall was out of the hearing radius.

He saw Nico pause in shock, and then he turned around “Will! What’s up?”.

Will panics, he didn’t think it through this far in the conversation. He seizes up and attempts to compose himself before he says the very carefully and meticulously worded,

“Percy. Leaving. Cabin. You. Less sad. What the fuck”.

Nico blinked at him in confusion “What the hell are you talking about?”.

 

Will could feel himself turning bright red. He was getting tongue-tied and embarrassed, he takes a deep breath and tries again.

“I-I saw Percy leaving your cabin this morning and you have this smug look on your face. What the fuck is up?” Will ask

It was then Nico’s turn to blush “What the fuck are you talking about? Nothing is up! Were you creeping around? Is that how you saw Percy?”  
  
“Unimportant! So you admit that Percy was in your cabin!”   
  
“Yeah, so what?”   
  
Will didn’t actually know. What’s Will role in this? “S-Scandal! What is up with that?”.

Nico grins and says smugly “What are you implying?”

 

Again, Will freezes “I just mean that I- I mean, you guys- us- I mean- just tell me! I-I’ll tell Annabeth and we both know how protective she can be”

Nico’s eyes widen and he sighs in defeat “Yes, Percy was in my cabin last night and he left this morning. But before you go all crazy, nothing dumb or disgusting happened. He literally slept on a different bunk”

Will, of course, wasn’t satisfied “But why was he there to begin with? Why’d you guys have some… sleepover?”

“Nothing” Nico turns around, facing away from Will. “He had a nightmare about Tartarus, and he knew I had them too. So he came around last night in the hopes that we had each other as a support system or something, I don’t know”

 

At that moment, all of Will’s anger or irritation was replaced by concern and worry. He literally felt Nico become sadder as he said those words, and Will felt terrible that it was because of him.

 

He forcibly turned Nico around to face him, with his hands on Nico’s shoulders.

“You’ve been having bad dreams? Why haven’t you been telling me? I’m your doctor” he shouts at him

“Yeah, but you’re not my therapist. I don’t need to tell you” Nico replies, with a hint of anger in his voice.

Will loosened his grip on Nico’s shoulders and sighed. “I’m just concerned, Nico. Both you and Percy should go to the Hypnos cabin to try and figure this out. Demigod nightmares are common, I know. But they don’t normally recount events that have already happened, they normally show you what is going to come”

Nico freezes “You-you don’t mean-”. It’s at that moment that Will felt that temporary mood lift of Nico’s disappear.

“I don’t know, Nico. Maybe that’s what it is, maybe it’s something completely normal. But regardless, it’s been a month after the war and you’re still having these dreams, I’m worried that they haven’t gone yet”.

Nico looks at the ground “You don’t forget being in Tartarus, Will”.

Will took a deep breath “I’m sure you don’t, but this is concerning and I need both you and Percy to get it checked out, okay? I’ll excuse you guys from an activity today so that you can go together”

After some time, Nico finally replies “Okay”.

 

Will places his hand on Nico’s shoulder, in the hopes that it may comfort him a little bit.

“You’re gonna be okay, Nico. Both...Both you and Percy” he says. “Everything always turns out, it’s one of the best things about being a demigod”

Nico sighs “I think you and I have very different experiences in being a demigod”.

 

Will was a little bothered by what Nico said. He said it like Will didn’t know how hard it was to be a demigod, like he didn’t experience suffering. As if Will never went through losing so, so many people. Will let it slide for now, he knew how much Nico was suffering, and he knew that his hurt was all over his body like a shadow that a cloud cast over him all the time.

 

Nico had lost his sister.

He ran away and lived in the underworld.

He would have been the chosen one if Percy had died.

He fell into Tartarus alone.

He shadow traveled all over the world.

 

Nico had definitely gone through a lot, and Will wasn’t going make an issue about comparing the long list of grievances that each of them had.

 

Will gave Nico a sad smile “We have archery together. Let’s get going, yeah?”. He said as he pushed Nico slightly in the direction of the archery range.

“You made my schedule like that on purpose, didn’t you?”

Will looked out into the distance, avoiding making eye contact with Nico as he grinned and blushed.

  
“Maybe”


End file.
